Alphonso Woodall, 37, television repairman, saved Louis Fabri, 32, bus driver, from drowning, Cleveland, Ohio, October 20, 1959. At night when their motorboat capsized in rough water in Lake Erie, Fabri and another man clung to it and were carried toward a concrete seawall which rose seven feet above the water. The other man attempted to swim to shore but was drowned. Men watching from the wall urged Fabri to hold on until the Coast Guard could arrive, but Fabri called that he could not do so much longer. Woodall, who still used crutches as the result of an accident seven months earlier in which he had broken both feet and a hip, volunteered to go to the aid of Fabri lest he drown or be dashed against the wall by waves up to eight feet high. Although he was warned of the danger of entering the rough water, Woodall removed all of his clothing except his trousers, put on a pair of swim fins and a life jacket, and tied a rope around his waist. Others lowered Woodall over the seawall into the rough water. Even though the loose-fitting jacket impeded his swimming and the waves caused him to swallow water, Woodall swam 40 feet to the overturned boat. Woodall took hold of the stern while Fabri continued clinging to the bow. Several waves struck Woodall about the head with force as the boat supporting them was drawn to near the wall by the rope. Woodall then inched his way to Fabri, once briefly losing his hold and swallowing more water when struck by a wave. One end of another rope was thrown to Woodall, and he tied it about Fabri’s wrists. The men then drew Woodall and Fabri to the wall. As they were lifted to the top of the wall, Woodall fended off from the wall to protect Fabri from being washed against it, Fabri was nearly exhausted but recovered. Woodall’s injured hip pained him considerably for several days
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